|
4975
qualitative
book
Laurin Bellg MD, Near Death in the ICU, Sloan Press, Chapter 9, Carlita, Pages 42-48, 2015
Near Death in the ICU, Carlita, Chapter 9, Pages 42-48, 2015
2015
38
F
Carlita, a 38-year-old woman, was brought unconscious to the hospital with severe meningitis causing continuous seizures. She remained in a coma for thirteen days despite treatment. During her coma, she experienced multiple out-of-body episodes where she observed medical procedures from outside her physical body.
During one vivid episode, Carlita found herself standing at the head of her hospital bed, observing her comatose body connected to various machines and tubes. She watched Dr. Bellg examine her, checking monitors, pressing on her fingernail to test for response, and performing neurological assessments including shining a light in her eyes and moving her head side to side. Above her body, she observed a mysterious blue orb of light, about the size of a basketball, floating and gently moving above her abdomen. Carlita accurately observed specific medical procedures she could not have seen from her comatose state. She watched the nurse perform painful stimulus tests including rubbing knuckles on her sternum and running a tongue depressor along the soles of her feet. She saw the doctor perform pupil response tests and the doll's eye maneuver. Despite being deeply comatose with no response to painful stimuli, she was aware of and could later describe these specific medical examinations in detail. Upon awakening after thirteen days, Carlita surprised Dr. Bellg by claiming to remember her, describing specific examination procedures that had occurred while she was comatose. The blue orb remained a central mystery of her experience, which she interpreted as possibly being an angel watching over her during her critical illness.
4
Hospital
7
10
17
Suggestive Evidence
0
Extended coma from meningitis with no response to stimuli
Observed specific medical procedures while comatose including neurological exams
written_account
1.00
1.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
Comatose for 13 days
8/3/2025
2
0
|